Access™ 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference

12.7. Creating a Ribbon from Scratch

In this second scenario, you'll design a ribbon customization for an application to be used in a travel agency. The application provides tools that are useful for someone working in a travel agency, and the users are not concerned with building databases. As such, the goal for this application is to provide a more off-the-shelf experience. As with any application of this nature, your Ribbon should replace the Access Ribbon.

By now, the techniques for building the Ribbon should be familiar. You'll build the XML and write the necessary callbacks. Along the way, you'll examine the design decisions made for the application and see some cool stuff such as filling a dropDown control with a list of months and a gallery control.

The sample database (TravelAgencySample.accdb) that implements the travel agency application is part of the download code for this book.

12.7.1. Defining the Tabs and Groups

Start the Ribbon by defining the tabs and groups that you want to build. That provides some organization to the Ribbon and helps you fill in the controls in the coming sections. The application will have the following tabs:

• Home: Contains the most common functionality in the application such as travel information.

• Destinations: Contains galleries of the different destination packages offered by the agency.

• Customers: The travel agency wouldn't be what it is without customers! This tab provides entry points to customer-related forms.

• Reports: Contains a ...